What can be learned from Jurassic Park phylogeny? Hopefully, this article will clarify most of the uncertainty and popular misconceptions surrounding the animals shown on screen. The article covers the current consensus and explains the uncertainties of the relationships of the prehistoric animals featured in the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World films, both to each other and other animals. A … Continue Reading
Most people have seen depictions of Tyrannosaurus a thousand times: they’re fearsome, likely hungry given their invariably open mouths, and covered in lizard-like scales. Some artists, however, take a different approach. These deviants show the beloved T. rex covered in feathers. While most people reject change for simply psychological reasons, others may wonder if they’ve been wrong all these years. … Continue Reading
Are you looking for some of the best dinosaur books for adults? Whether for yourself or as a gift, books are an almost universal choice. Whether they are avid readers or not, most people will pick up a book about a subject that they find interesting. People tend to link dinosaurs with children. When it comes to dinosaur books for … Continue Reading
We have all wondered this since our childhood: can dinosaurs be resurrected? As much as technology has advanced, the possibility does not seem so far-fetched. Is it possible to bring back the dinosaurs? The popular notion of dinosaur resurrection through DNA recovery is now known to be impossible. DNA degrades rapidly over time and the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct 66 … Continue Reading
When reading about dinosaurs or visiting a museum you may have wondered: how do scientists determine the age of fossils? Are they millions of years old? How do scientists know that, for example, Tyrannosaurus rex lived about 66 million years ago? Are these estimates verifiable? So, how do scientists determine the age of a fossil? Scientists use two general techniques … Continue Reading
One of the most famous Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons, “Stan” the T. rex, may also be the most well-traveled T. rex. At the moment, he currently resides in Texas, New Mexico, Washington, D.C., Kansas, Wyoming, Indiana, Wisconsin, the United Kingdom, and even Tokyo, Japan. There’s only one Stan, so how can he be in so many places at once? The answer … Continue Reading
Most readers will likely be familiar with the three types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Many readers may not realize, however, that fossils only come from sedimentary rocks. Why are fossils found in sedimentary rock? Fossils are found in sedimentary rock because the conditions of sedimentary rock formation are crucial to fossilization, as igneous and metamorphic rock formation would … Continue Reading
Evolution is one of the most important theories in modern science. It provides a framework for understanding where modern species came from, including our own. Evolution teaches scientists how to understand trends in biodiversity, genetics, and Earth’s history. Further, evolution provides insights into such disparate topics as endangered species conservation, vaccine development, and antibiotic, pesticide, and herbicide resistance. How do … Continue Reading
As a child, I often annoyed everyone around me talking about dinosaurs nonstop. Honestly, I still do this. However, one thing always annoyed me too. Why did everyone think that I wanted to be an archaeologist? What’s the difference between paleontology and archaeology? Paleontology is the study of prehistoric life through fossils while archaeology is the study of ancient humans … Continue Reading
Dinosaur names are notoriously difficult to say. We all know the most popular ones because they’re prevalent in pop culture. Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, and Stegosaurus are no more difficult to say than Elephant; how many people can pronounce, much less, spell Tuojiangosaurus? Do dinosaurs have common names? Dinosaur names are often hard to pronounce because their scientific names are derived from … Continue Reading